The present invention relates to a process for the production of a collector for use with direct current electric machines.
The collector of an electric machine is an apparatus that is highly stressed in service. Its production requires attentive care since the collector, which consists of copper sheets and micaceous insulation arranged in rings, must behave as a solid entity, in spite of the centrifugal forces, vibrations and heating imposed by the operation.
To obtain satisfactory performance of the collector in service, the conventional process consists of exposing the collector to artificial aging by a succession of radial stresses, effected alternatively at the ambient temperature and at a temperature of the order of 200.degree. C., by means of an appropriate apparatus.
In view of the large weight of the band, the segments, the plates and the spider which constitute the tooling and the weight of the collector itself, each heating or cooling operation requires several hours. The complete cycle of the aging of the collector is of the order of a week for large sizes. The conventional process ties up for several days the tools, the furnaces and the cooling areas and involves the consumption of large amounts of energy.